A State-By-State Guide To The Top Women's History Landmarks In America

Women's Rights National Historical Park statues in Seneca Falls, New York — one of the most significant places to see the history of women's rights in America. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

In 1978, an education task force in Sonoma County, California launched a celebration of "Women’s History Week," which took off. Nine years later, Congress designated March as Women’s History Month to acknowledge the work of women across America. Want to explore the roots of women’s rights? In honor of Women’s History Month, we compiled the best locations across the country that highlight the contributions of women.

The historic Rosa Parks bus.

Photo courtesy of the Rosa Parks Museum at Troy University

ALABAMA

Rosa Parks Museum(Montgomery) – Upholding the importance of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, this memorial also honors the life of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.

ALASKA

Polly’s(Kantishna) — This historic roadhouse was where Paula Anderson gave refuge to miners and travelers back in the early 1900s by caring for them and giving them food and a place to rest.

ARIZONA

Arizona Women’s Heritage Trail(Mesa) — This historic site celebrates all of the diverse women who have made an impact on the Southwest and the nation. The trail is meant to encourage public awareness of women’s presence and leadership.

ARKANSAS

Arkansas Women’s History Institute(Little Rock) — Dedicated to the study of Arkansas women’s history, this non-profit organization makes strides to spread unwritten history and empower the women of today.

The Molly Brown House (Denver) — Former home of Denver’s first historic preservationist, "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," who survived the sinking of the Titanic.

CONNECTICUT

Harriet Beecher Stowe House (Hartford) — Want to see where Harriet Beecher Stowe — author of the important novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin — once lived? The Stowe House is set in Nook Farm, a 140-acre parcel purchased by Stowe’s brother-in-law and lawyer in 1853.

DELAWARE

Underground Railroad in Delaware (Wilmington) — A landmark dedicated to the best known conductor on the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, who rescued more than 300 slaves mostly through this route.

Anhinga trail boardwalk at the Royal Palm Visitor Center. (Photo courtesy of Shutterstock)

FLORIDA

Royal Palm State Park (Everglades) — May Austin Elizabeth Mann Jennings, former First Lady of Florida, helped create the Royal Palm State Park, which was the first state park in Florida and later served as the basis for the incredible Everglades National Park.

GEORGIA

Ellamae Ellis League House (Macon) — This historic house designed by female architect Ellamae Ellis League during the 20th century was created at a time when women were not traditionally in professional roles besides teaching.

HAWAII

Anna Ranch (Kamuela). Still active today, this ranch was where Anna Lindsey lived life as a Hawaiian Rancher and cowgirl. She also brought innovations and new cattle breeds to Hawaii and performed many charitable deeds for the community.

A bronze statue of Sacajawea at the Sacajawea Center (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

IDAHO

Sacajawea Center (Salmon) — This center celebrates the rich history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Sacajawea, and partners with those who are dedicated to educating the public about the Agai’dika Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, Western frontier life and the natural environment.

INDIANA

Madame C.J. Walker Building (Indianapolis) — Celebrating one of the most successful African American women in history, Madame C.J. Walker, who dedicated her life to promoting arts in the black community as well as the employment of women of color.

IOWA

Carrie Lane Chapman Catt Girlhood Home (Charles City) — The childhood home of suffrage leader Carrie Lane Chapman, who led countless women in the fight to pressure Congress to allow them the right to vote.

ILLINOIS

Ida B. Wells-Barnett House (Chicago) — The home of the African-American civil rights activist and early investigative journalist who was born right before the Emancipation Proclamation is now a National Historic Landmark.

KANSAS

Ensor Farm (Olathe) — History was made here when Loretta Ensor became “The Lone Woman Radio Amateur in West.” She and her brother were licensed radio operatives, broadcasting from the farmhouse for 56 years.

Kentuckey's Mary Todd Lincoln House.

Photo courtesy of FloNight (Sydney Poore) and Russell Poore/Wikimedia

KENTUCKY

Mary Todd Lincoln House (Lexington) — One of the nation's most famed First Ladies lived in this home constructed more than 210 years ago.

LOUISIANA

The Gaudet Normal Industrial School (New Orleans) — African-American and Native American activist Frances Gaudet dedicated her life to social work and opened the school to support juvenile prisoners.

MAINE

Matinicus Rock and Whitehead Light Stations (Knox County) — Historic site where Abbie Burgess Grant was a lighthouse keeper known for her bravery for tending the house for months during a raging winter storm in 1856.

Keweenaw National Historical Park (Calumet) – This park, established in honor of Michigan's copper mining industry, also tells the story of women's contributions to the field.

MINNESOTA

Strutwear Knitting Company Building (Minneapolis) — Home to an important battle in the labor movement, where nearly 900 female workers participated in a strike against the company’s anti-union policies.

The Eudora Welty House.

Photo courtesy of the Eudora Welty Foundation

MISSISSIPPI

Eudora Welty House (Jackson) — The home where influential 20th century writer Eudora Welty lived and wrote all of her major works.

MISSOURI

The Home of the Friendless (St. Louis) — This senior care facility served as a home for elderly women and widows who had no financial support.

MONTANA

Rankin Ranch (Avalanche Gulch) — The home of the first female member of Congress, Jeanette Rankin, who was instrumental in passing the 19th Amendment and believed that women had an important place in politics.

NEBRASKA

Willa Cather Home (Red Cloud) — The prominent female author's family moved to this family farm when she was 9. While she only lived here 12 years, the place inspired many of Cather's stories of America’s frontier experience.

NEVADA

Nevada Historical Society (Reno) — Jeanne Weir was one of the women who formed the Nevada Equal Franchise Society in the fight for women’s suffrage and went on to found the Nevada Historical Society to teach future generations.

New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail (Trenton) — Ever-changing and growing with women making history every day, this trail already includes over 90 sites, each significant to the women who have made a difference in the state of New Jersey and the world as a whole.

NEW MEXICO

Georgia O’Keeffe Home and Studio (Abiquiu) — This is the home and studio of artist Georgia O’Keeffe, who was known for her powerful graphic images and has been recognized as the “Mother of Modernism” because of her reputation as a radical feminist.

The 1844 Seneca Knitting Mil, future home of the National Women's Hall of Fame.

Photo courtesy of the National Women's Hall of Fame

NEW YORK

National Women’s Hall of Fame (Seneca Falls) Birthplace of women’s suffrage, the Finger Lakes region was home to monumental leaders such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as well as the site of the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls. The National Women's Hall of Fame honors more than 200 pioneering women.

NORTH CAROLINA

Pauli Murray House (Durham) — The childhood home of the prolific civil rights activist and co-founder of the National Organization for Women.

NORTH DAKOTA

Marker of Sacagawea’s Death (Mobridge) — This marker honors Sacagawea as a member of the Shoshone tribe, as well as her part in the Lewis & Clark Expedition.

The Lion House (Salt Lake City) — Historic site where the Young Ladies’ Department of the Ladies’ Cooperative Retrenchment Association was founded.

VERMONT

Emma Willard House (Middlebury) — Historic home where Emma Willard began a school for girls per her dedication to women’s education.

Maggie L. Walker and Independent Order of St. Luke staff members in front of St. Luke Hall, 1917.

Photo courtesy of Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site

VIRGINIA

Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site (Richmond) — Visit the mansion of Maggie L. Walker, an African-American entrepreneur who ran a store and started a newspaper and her own bank during the Great Depression.